May 11-16 was designated as Hospital Week, and a cookout was held on

Thursday to honor all the staff and volunteers at Crenshaw Community Hospital.

During the cookout, a portrait of Jesus, painted by Fran Alford, was presented to

Crenshaw Community Hospital. The painting will be hung in the hospital’s

chapel.

Fran has volunteered as a Pink Lady at the hospital for the past three

years. The Pink Ladies’ group at the hospital has been active since the

mid-70s.

Alford has been painting since June 2003, when she started taking

lessons at the Colley Senior Complex in Troy.

“We had to paint the usual apples and trees, but I found out pretty quickly that I only like to paint

people – I’m no flower girl,” she said, laughing. “I believe God has given

me this talent, even though I discovered it late in life. It’s so much fun.

I’ve done portraits of all the kids and grandchildren – somehow, they all

hang in our living room.”

She says the painting of Jesus took over two months; it normally doesn’t

take a long time for her to do a portrait of one person, but she’s currently

working on one with four people, and she’s already worked on it for over

three months.

Besides painting, Fran enjoys line dancing, and was part of a group

scheduled to dance at the Festival at the Well this past weekend.